Metal ironing board



May 5, 1942.

D. w. THOMAS METAL IRONING BOARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 14, 1939 flan/id W Thomas y 4 Y D. w. THOMAS 2,281,729

METAL IRONING BOARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 14, 1959 INVENTOR David WTJzamas fore been commercially strong and rigid for its metal to the desired Patented May 5, 1942 UNITED STATE 2,281,129 METAL momNG noun David W. Thomas.

to Youngstown Youngstown, Ohio,

Application Ai ril 14,

3 Claims.

This invention pertains to ironing boards or tables and is for a board or table made of sheet metal instead of wood as is the usual practice.

Ironing boards or tables of conventional form comprise a wooden member or board approximately four and one half feet long, one and one quarter feet wide, and they taper in width from a. point intermediate the The board is commonly supported on a folding stand in such manner that the tapered end portion projects entirely clear of the stand, there being one leg unit adjacent the wide end of the board and another leg unit about the middle of the board, the tapered end thus constituting an overhang over which certain articles of apparel such as skirts, dresses, slips, and the like may be laced in such manner that only one thickness of cloth is ironed or pressed at a time. The wood in such a board weighs from about seven and a half to nine and a half pounds.

Due to the fact that wooden boards are subject to warping and splitting, this tendency being aggravated by the repeated heating and steaming of the wood and the subsequent drying of the wood that occurs in the regular use of the board, and also because such boards present a recognized fire hazard, attempts have' been made to provide a metal substitute. In order to compete commercially with'wooden boards, a metal board should be of the same approximate cost as the wooden board. It must not be materially heavier than a wooden board and it must be equally solid and rugged, and the provision in a light sheet metal structure of inexpensive design of the necessary rigidity against transverse and longitudinal bending has not heretoaccomplished.

Youngstown, Metal Products vOhio, assignor C p ny.

a corporation of Ohio 1939, Serial N0. 267,157 (CL 38-137) I plane of line more fully described by reference to the accomanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cover sheet of the board prior to the assembly thereof with the reinforcing member;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the reinforcing member that fits within the structure shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section through the assembled board;

Figure 4 is a top plan viewoi a portion of the completed board, part of the cover sheet being broken away to show the underlying structure;

Figure 5 is a transverse vertical section on the V--V of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of one of the v transverse tension-distributing members to which According to the present invention there is provided a table or board surface which will resist deflection under all reasonable conditions of use at least as well as if not better than wooden boards of comparable dimensions and which may be commercially manufactured in a price range competitive with wooden boards and which, while intended purpose, is made of light gauge sheet metal and has a weight comparable to a wooden board.

This is accomplished by forming a shape and dimensions and attaching to the under face thereof a channellike reinforcing element also of light sheet metal to secure rigidity in a longitudinal direction and further providing means to resist transverse bending of the structure. The invention may be the supporting stand is secured; and

Figure '7 is an inverted bottom plan view showing a modification in which means is provided for electrically heating the board.

In the drawings, the board structure illustrated comprises a cover sheet 2 having the shape of a conventional ironing board and having a downwardly turned flange 3 entirely around the edge thereof. One end of the cover sheet tapers in width, the tapered portion being designated 2a and the opposite end is somewhat rounded, this portion being designated 22). Although the cover sheet is made of relatively light gauge commercial sheet metal, it has some rigidity by reason of the peripheral flange 3, and this is enhanced by forming an inwardly rolled edge 4 on the bottom of the flange.

Secured to the under surface of the cover sheet 2 is a reinforcing member 5 comprising a number of reversed longitudinally extending channel elements that are co-extensive with the area of the board. This reinforcing member consists of a piece of light gauge sheet metal pressed to provide a series of longitudinally extending inverted channel elements 5a and reversed channel elements 51), the side flanges 5c of two adjacent elements So being also the sides of the intervening upright channel elements 5b.

5d between the two side flanges forming a relatively wide flat supporting surface for the cover sheet which overlies and contacts with these web portions. The cover sheet is spot welded to the webs of theinverted channels at frequent intervals. While the inverted channels 5a provide longitudinal rigidity to the structure, the longitudinal rigidity is much greater b reason of the intervening upright channel The channel elements Sa'have flat web portions sheet, parallel bo '-like girders or trusses with truss below the a web of metal in each girder or neutral axis of the truss.

The member has dimensions of the cover sheet, one end portion of the cover sheet, the cover sheet throughout its length. The member 5 between the taper at one end and the rounded portion eral flanges s with edges if that lie against the down-turned flange 3 at the sides the rolled edge oi? the cover sheet extending under the lateral flanges it will be understood that in assembling the structure the reinforcing member is placed against the underside of the cover before the edges of? the cover are rolled in.

The reversed series of channels imparts a the s ructure even used is light gauge metal and the inverted channels are close enough to= gether and are Sllfficiently wide and flat to pro vide a support for the cover sheet such that in will remain fiat.

have transverse rigidity, tension distributing bars may be secured to the member, the bars being spot welded to the webs of each of the upright channel elements, The bars may the cover sheet providing the top chord. fiwo of the bars, in conjunction with the flange around the edge of the cover sheet, are ade quate to make the board rigid in a crosswise direction.

The bars 8 are formed of slightly heavier gauge metal than the cover sheet and reinforcing member. They may carry ears to which the legs of a folding stand are attached, the upper portions of such legs being indicated at 9. Thus the bars 3 serve the dual function of providing transverse rigidity and providing for the attachment of a stand to the light gauge metal board structure.

It frequently happens that ironing boards when stored away are stood on end. In order to protect the board from being bent at its ends when this happens, a rib III is pressed into the dance 3 around the wide end of the board and a similar rib i0 is pressed out of the flange at the front end of the board. These ribs not only stifien and reinforce the flange portions over which they are formed, but they provide a proa full support is elven to the flange 'from' becoming bent.

- the iron alone -jection on which the board will rest if it is on a floor and thereby prevent These ribs are of particular importance in providing a protection for the top edge of the board where it bends down into the flange. The l ngitudinal sides of the cover sheetalong the main surface of the board will of course be reinforced by the downwardly turned necessary to provide any reinforcing rib along the sides of the board.

As previ usly stated, the construction herein described enables the board to be assembled from placed vertically It can be cheaply assembled and can therefore be made to sell in a price range competitive with wooden boards. It is more dur- Through heating the board, garments or other articles being pressed may be dried out more quickly than where the heat o5 is relied upon.

31' claim: 1. ring ironing board comprising a fiat top member of light gauge sheet metal having one portions of the reinforcing member being united ng sheet substantially co-extensive with said top sheet and having longitudinal channels formed therein, portions of which are in contact with and welded to the top sheet, said flange at one end of said top member having a rib pro jecting outwardly therefrom adapted to space the flange from a support when the board is stood on end thereon.

3. In. an ironinglboard, a in; a 'down-tumed peripheral flange, and a rib projecting outwardly of the top, said rib 6 stood on end on a support,

above the support.

sheet metal top havtrom said flange at one end serving when the board is D VI W. THOMAS.

to space the flange 

